Faerie Queen
by Keeley McGregor VIVA LA PLUTO
Summary: Basically if Rowan had a little sister. CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM OF ASH, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
1. Chapter 1

Holly Ember Whitethorn was twelve when she was taken away. From her brother, her friends, her lands. Holly Ember Whitethorn was fifteen when she discovered the name that haunted her nightmares. Maeve, the Fae Queen had taken her. Holly Ember Whitethorn was seventeen when she tried to escape. She was locked in her bedroom for months, screaming for her brother. Holly Ember Whitethorn was eighteen when a Fae male tried to teach her how to use her magic. He was gone like the rest of them within a matter of days. Holly Ember Whitethorn was twenty five when she stopped aging and stayed the way she looked forever. The embers in her had disappeared. Holly Whitethorn was fifty one when she realised Maeve's true dark side as she was whipped by one of Maeve's cadre. Holly Whitethorn was over one hundred years old when she gave up hope. Every inch of her was dead, she had nothing to live for. Holly Whitethorn was one hundred and twenty two when she tried to slit her own throat. She was nothing, and as she lay down to bed, the sliver of hope that she'd once depended on, flickered. And once the last candle in the room went out, that sliver of hope joined it.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're not focusing!" Lorcan growled as he slashed his sword at Holly. She ducked and swept her foot under his legs. He tripped over but was back up again in an instant. Her hip-length silver hair kept whipping in her face, no matter how it was tied back. She'd just given up on it. Her golden brown skin was gleaming with sweat as she pushed herself to stay on her feet.

"Yes, I am!" she argued. He pushed his blade against her own, forcing her into a battle of strength. He flipped her blade out of her hands and it fell to the ground with a clang. He kicked her in the chest and she fell alongside her sword.

"If you were focusing, you'd have the brain to get out of that!" She snarled at him, and stood up. "If Connall distracted you last night-"

"No, no! Nothing like that happened! I needed to tell him that I was about to leave for a few days."

"Maeve wants you trained, doesn't she?"

"After a hundred years, she thinks she's found someone."

"Who?"

"I don't know. I'm being sent into the countryside until I can use it."

"Mistward?"

"Think so." She lunged at him again, and he pushed her off easily. He swiped the blade at her head again and she blocked it. She kicked him, right in the knees and he collapsed. She pointed the sword at him.

"Holly Whitethorn!" someone called. Holly whirled around to see Mayla, a servant in the castle. "The Queen requests your presence." Holly followed Mayla through the hallways until she reached Maeve's throne room. Maeve drummed her fingers on the armrest of the throne.

"You are to leave right at this moment. A horse has been prepared. You are travelling to Mistward," she said.

"Why now?"

"I need you trained. Go." Holly turned and found a male- Connall- waiting to escort her out. She walked with him outside, wondering what the rush was about. He didn't ask her anything, thank the gods but it was still strange.

"Connall?" she said when her horse was in sight.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Why was Maeve trying to get me out so fast?"

"I can't tell you. A person Maeve doesn't want you seeing is coming."

"Who?"

"Blood oath," he whispered. Without warning, he grabbed her and put her on top of her horse. She almost shrieked, but simply nodded and rode off to Mistward.

A week later, Holly Whitethorn reached the forest just outside of Mistward when something came running out- straight at her. She dismounted and drew her sword quickly. She slammed the hilt right into its face, but then she realised it was a Fae male. Fenrys, Connall's brother. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm going to Mistward," she said quickly.

"Do exactly as I tell you. I may have angered a few skinwalkers and now they're out for my blood. Run, and don't look back." She spun and ran, feeling her magic build up, magic that could easily- _No,_ she scolded herself. _You'd just kill Fenrys along with all the demi-Fae in Mistward._ She kept going, her feet barely touching the ground as she flew towards the fortress. She dived and rolled when one of the guards at the gate shot an arrow at her. She kept going towards Mistward anyway, and when she got to the guards, she was immediately grabbed and shoved against the wall.

"Name?" one hissed.

"She's with me, Darron," Fenrys interjected before he could get a name out of her. Fenrys pulled her into the fortress and into a silent corner. "What is your name?"

"Holly Whitethorn," she answered.

"Congratulations. I'm Fenrys and I'll be trying to teach you about your magic. I'd prefer you not call yourself by your real name as that'll cause a lot of whispers among the demi-Fae."

"Then what do I say when someone asks?"

"I don't know. Make something up. Just stay anonymous."

"Fine."

"Now follow me." He led her to a room, small but cosy. "You'll be staying here for however long it takes for you to learn the limits of your power. Meet me in the kitchens in the morning." He left her in there, and she immediately went to bed. Damn, she was tired after a week of travelling.

Holly woke up two hours before dawn. She quickly changed into a set of clothes that had been laid right behind the door and brushed her long hair. She walked around the fort for a while until someone found her and directed her to the kitchen. She saw a young lady, with blonde hair and blue eyes ringed with gold, a middle aged man with brown hair and another demi-Fae with fiery grey eyes. She walked over to them and the blonde lady turned to her. "Good morning," she greeted. "What's your name? I assume you came in last night with Fenrys."

"Uh, yeah. I'm Ember Frostbyte. Who are you?" Holly asked.

"Evalin Ashryver, this is Emrys and Malakai. Are you working in the kitchens?"

"She is," Fenrys said from behind her. "She'll be with me for the rest of the day." Holly looked back at him, then looked to Emrys for orders. Breakfast was mad, everyone storming in and then running back up. She learned no one's names but she didn't particularly care. Evalin helped with cutting the many vegetables and frying the eggs. Holly was sweating by the end of it, and then she looked to the massive pile of dishes and groaned. It would take forever. Evalin spotted her annoyed look and sat down next to her.

"Washing dishes isn't all bad when you got someone with water magic helping you," she said softly.

"Did you say your last name was Ashryver? As in Wendlyn Ashryver? Descended from Mab?"

"She's my grandmother." Evalin waved her hand and the dishes scrubbed themselves clean. "Now we get to put them away." It took the both of them half an hour to tuck away every dish that had been used. Fenrys was waiting at the base of the stairs and nodded at Evalin.

"Come on," he growled. Holly followed him outside and he said simply, "Show me."

"Show you what?" she asked.

"Your magic. I don't care what you do, just give me an idea of what I will be working with."

"That's not the best idea…"

"Just do it, Holly Whitethorn." She concentrated on bringing her magic to its full, and sure enough trees started to move in ways they were supposed to, stars and the moon could be seen floating in the sky and some things dissolved into pure nothingness. "Stop," Fenrys commanded when her magic started creeping over where he stood. She couldn't stop though. The feeling of this power, this magic was unbelievable. "Stop! Holly, stop!" She was right here, and she could take on the world. Then something pushed against it, but she broke through that barrier too.

"Ember!" Evalin screamed. Evalin was running, everywhere there wasn't something wrong she stepped. Evalin stopped right in front of Holly, and shook her shoulders. "Snap out of it!" Holly blinked a few times, and everything faded. "What was that?" Evalin asked her gently.

"My magic," Holly responded.

"Was that the full extent?"

"No."

"Does it have a name?" Holly thought for a moment.

"Arcane. Don't bother researching it. I'm the only one whose ever had it."

"Arcane? Like secret in the Old Language?" Fenrys asked.

"Yes. Because-"

"Shut up. Can you shift?"

"I think I can."

"Do it." She concentrated, looking past her magic and into the Fae blood running in her veins. She became smaller, and stood on all fours. A wolf. A grey wolf. Evalin tilted her head but when Fenrys gestured for her to go away, she obeyed. Fenrys shifted too- a white wolf, much larger than her. He trotted over to her, and bared his canines. She bared hers right back. He growled and shifted back to Fae and she joined him. "A grey wolf," he commented. She said nothing. He pointed to a rock on the ground. "Dissolve that, and nothing else."

"Wait! There's something else about arcane magic that you should know."

"Are you stalling?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"It's celestial magic too. Manipulating the universe and magical energy." She willed it to appear in her outstretched palm and turquoise crackling material sparked. Fenrys reached to touch it but Holly slapped his hand away. "Unless you want a burn that'll last for centuries, I wouldn't touch it." Fenrys sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

After years of merciless training with Fenrys, Holly finally had some sort of control over her magic. She could manipulate reality and had a fairly decent control over her celestial magic. The one thing, though, no matter what she tried, she couldn't control magical energy. She'd grown to have a decent relationship with Fenrys, but she didn't allow anything more than a friendship. She was called back to Doranelle by Maeve who was rather pleased with her results. Holly had caught a glimpse of another Whitethorn a few times. A tall, tan Fae male with silver hair and pine green eyes, a tattoo running down his face.

Holly had enough of this nonsense. She wanted out. Holly stormed through the palace, killing anyone who dared stand against her. Holly was so close to the gate, when-

"Cadre, get her back here! And put these on her!" Maeve ordered. Holly broke into a sprint, but five Fae males were on her heels, lunging. It was Connall, Fenrys, Lorcan, Gavriel and Vaughan. She kept running, smashing a few meteorites to trip them. Lorcan shielded the others, then Vaughan and Connall tackled her to the ground. Fenrys teleported right on top of her and in his hands… Wyrd save her. A muzzle. And chains. She struggled and kicked but Gavriel held her shoulders down firmly. Vaughan dragged her back to Maeve, who smiled and gestured downstairs. "Take her to the dungeon."

"My queen, which one?"

"Closest to the door." She was shoved into the cell, but none of them left. Instead they tried prying the muzzle off. She'd grown up with them, and they had never tried to defy Maeve's orders before. Except this once. It refused to move, and the cadre tried using a little magic that didn't work either. Holly took a deep breath, then forced it to break in half with her magic. She snapped the chains too, and Fenrys gave her one final order.

"Run, and never look back. Forget us, and don't trust anyone." She wanted to hug him right now but she followed his command and raced out, out of Doranelle and to Adarlan. To Terrasen. She jumped on a ship heading that way she snuck to the cargo hold. The trip seemed to last days, and she heard whispers of a queen called Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, a fire user as powerful as Brannon himself. And then someone else, Rowan Whitethorn. The queen's lover and blood sworn. Holly snuck out of the ship after it docked at Rifthold and shifted. She prowled the streets in the shadows, heading for the castle when a hawk looked at her from above. She shifted back and the hawk kept watching.

"F**k off, you creep," she growled. The hawk still didn't break his stare.


	4. Chapter 4

Months after the encounter with the strange hawk, Holly came across a Fae male in Terrasen. Vaughan, who still worked for Maeve. She curled her lips back in a snarl. No matter what the cadre had helped her with, they were still bound to Maeve. They could easily turn Holly in. "Relax, I'm not here for you. I'm only looking for Lorcan," he said. She didn't relax completely but she stopped glaring. "And I'd recommend you go to Orynth. I can't tell you why, but go."

"Hey, Vaughan!" she called as he started to turn. "I'll come back. And when I do, Maeve will be dead. I swear." He didn't respond, and Holly went away, this time, heading for Orynth.

Holly was out of breath by the time she'd reached the city, half in ruins. But then she heard a voice… _Give in, Holly Whitethorn._ She was pushed back through her first whipping and the time she'd tried to escape. _You can't win this battle. A battle of minds._ Holly stopped resisting. Then she shoved that thing in her head through memories that were neither happy nor depressing.

Holly's older brother, the one who'd always stuck by her side. The cadre. Fenrys. Connall. Vaughan. Lorcan. Gavriel. Over and over in her head. She kept the names going. Fenrys. Connall. Vaughan. Lorcan. Gavriel. It forced her through a scene of Connall, stabbing himself in the heart. Not real. This was a fake world. Connall. Fenrys. Lorcan. Gavriel. Vaughan. She would not let go. She grasped the memories firmly. She would not forget the ones who had saved her. The thing tried one last time to break her- a scene of Lorcan, bloody and bruised. This was not real. The thing stopped, then disappeared.

Maeve and Erawan must have used magic to forward their troops as they stood in front of Aelin Galathynius, a tattooed Fae, Dorian Havilliard and… Fenrys. Holly stepped forward, but no one looked at her. Aelin's eyes glanced at her once, but no more. Erawan was soon taken away by a ruk from the south, and his screams were still heard.

"I'll have your souls for this, Heir of Mala," Maeve hissed. Aelin and her group linked arms.

"You wouldn't have won anyway, Maeve. And Fenrys here is gonna show you how we deal with Valg like you," Aelin countered. Fenrys teleported behind Maeve and shoved his blade into Maeve's heart. She only laughed however, and everyone went pale but Holly walked forward, just behind Maeve.

"I am Holly Ember Whitethorn," she whispered. "You kept me chained up in Doranelle for my whole life. You sent me to Mistward for years to learn how to control my magic. I suppose I owe you for one thing. I met the cadre. But your life ends right here." Holly raised the dagger, magical energy bursting out around her, surrounding Maeve, and she directed it all into Maeve's heart. Maeve screamed as it began taking her apart, ripping the limbs from her body and finally her head. Holly spat on Maeve's dead body, then set out to find the army that was still powerful.

Holly found the battlefield quickly, and the Valg were only just winning. Holly manipulated her starfire, magical energy and everything she had towards the oncoming Valg. She shifted into a wolf, the elements still blazing around her as she tore through the enemy lines. When she had taken down the last of the Valg in her sight, she shifted back, covered in blood and exhausted. She stumbled back, but then something hit her in the stomach. A sleek black sword pierced her gut, and she summoned one last bit of magic before she passed out.

Aelin paced the room for hours, with Fenrys waiting by the girl's bed. He had obviously come across her before, as he knew exactly how to heal her. Damn, she was stabbed with a Valg sword after handling so much magic and still survived. Fenrys perked up when she stirred, and began to sit up. "Don't even try," he growled softly. She tried anyway but Fenrys pushed her back down, as gently as he could. Aelin came next to Fenrys, now shushing the girl whenever she argued with him. "Holly Ember Whitethorn, don't you dare!" he said, fiercely this time. _Whitethorn._

"Holly, are you related to Rowan?" Aelin asked. Holly had the exact same green eyes, silver hair, golden brown skin and harsh face as Rowan. She didn't smell like him, but she looked so much like him.

"I don't know. The Whitethorns are so widespread," Holly answered. Fenrys poked her in the ribs.

"Liar," he said. Holly grunted in response.

"If I'm talking about this with anyone, I'll talk about it with Rowan."

"I can go get him," Aelin offered. "Come on, Fenrys." Fenrys stood and followed Aelin outside, and shut the door behind him. She led him to her and Rowan's bedroom where Rowan waited, twirling a dagger in his hands. "Holly wants to talk to you," Aelin said. Rowan arched an eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I don't know. If you're worried about her attacking you-"

"I can handle her. She's one Fae. And she's used up all her magic." _I hope._ Rowan walked to Holly's room, led by Aelin who kissed him on the cheek before he went in. Holly leaned against the headboard, her arms crossed. "Why did you want to meet me?" She scoffed.

"I'm surprised, Rowan. This ain't an interrogation, alright?"

"Alright."

"Anyways, my name is Holly Ember Whitethorn, and I believe-" He stopped listening after hearing her name. _Holly Ember Whitethorn._ "Hey, prince. Are you even listening?"

"I need to go. I'll come back when… when I'm feeling better." Rowan left without saying goodbye, clutching his head. He went back to his room then paused. Aelin would ask him what happened, and he needed to be alone. Rowan went into one of the secret tunnels he'd discovered while he'd been in the palace and stayed there until his thoughts cleared. Gods above, Holly Whitethorn. Whitethorn. _Ember._


	5. Chapter 5

Holly yawned as Fenrys inspected the stab wound, for the fiftieth time. He sighed and said, "You're good to go, Holly." Holly immediately swung her legs out of bed and shoved Fenrys out the door. She dressed in a plain tunic and pants and quickly went outside where Rowan walked in the garden, hands fidgeting. Holly went right over to Rowan and folded her arms.

"I believe you owe me an apology, Rowan Whitethorn," she said. He finally noticed her and stepped back. "The now-King of Terrasen yielding to someone who he hasn't seen in two hundred years."

"Holly," he said softly. "Holly Whitethorn."

"Yes, you idiot." Rowan didn't respond but instead pulled her into his arms.

"I missed you. By all the gods, I missed you every gods-damned day of my life." Holly pushed him away, then punched him in the shoulder.

"That's for not recognising me the first time you caught me in Rifthold, princeling."

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" Aelin said, stepping in between the two Whitethorns. Aelin and Rowan seemed to have a silent conversation until Aelin huffed and turned on her heel.

"Don't leave us alone!" Rowan exclaimed. Holly turned around and walked away with Aelin.

"You should really talk to him," she said.

"He doesn't want to and it's obvious. He probably hates me and I don't blame him," Holly replied.

"He does want to talk to you. He's just uncomfortable."

"Yeah, because he thought I was dead." Holly made her way to the city and breathed in the fresh bread from the market. They all whispered, _death comes. She comes upon us all._ Holly walked right in anyway, smiling and laughing quietly as the snow touched her face gently. She went right to the outskirts of Orynth, where the blood still stained the ground. She took careful steps over the battlefield, but then remembered Connall. Maeve was dead so why wasn't Connall here? Or Gavriel or Vaughan, for that matter?

"Hey," a voice said from behind her. Rowan.

"What happened to Connall, Gavriel and Vaughan?" she asked. Rowan's heart seemed to sink at that.

"Connall and Gavriel are dead. We don't know where Vaughan is." Holly stopped breathing. _Dead._ The words kept echoing in her head. _Connall and Gavriel are dead. We don't know where Vaughan is._ Holly straightened and forced herself to look him dead in the eye.

"I am going to find Vaughan," she said simply, sharply, coldly. With that, she turned on her heel and walked into the comforting embrace of the blizzard that was forming around them. She wasn't aware of the man beside her, too dissolved in figuring out where Vaughan might be.

"Are you Holly Whitethorn?" he asked.

"No I'm gods-damned Mora. Of course I'm Holly Whitethorn," she snapped.

"Well, my name's Aedion Ashryver, and Rowan's friend."

"Sorry, kid. But I ain't dealing with any of your shit right now."

"Are you really that vain as to not speak to your own brother?"

"He didn't talk to me for two hundred years. He never even bothered to try and look for me."

"Holly-" She cut him off with a song, a song so ancient even Maeve stopped breathing when Holly sang it.

"Now I see fire, inside the mountain I see fire, burning the trees. And I see fire, hollowing souls. And I see fire, blood in the breeze and I hope that you'll remember me." Aedion was silent, and Holly took the opportunity to run.

"Aedion, what happened?" she heard Aelin ask Aedion. He grumbled something and she laughed. "Let me handle it." Light footsteps, and then Aelin walking beside Holly. "How're you doing?"

"Awful." Aelin huffed a laugh.

"Aren't we all? I was just wondering, can you tell me about Connall?"

"Why?"

"Fenrys was there. I was too when he died. Maeve forced him into his Fae form and told him to stab himself with a knife. I want to hold a burial for him, but I don't know what to say to Fenrys about it."

"I can't right now."

"I won't push just… if you feel like it, talk to me. Or anyone else here. They'd all understand what it's like to lose a friend."

"Thanks… Aelin." Aelin smiled, even as Holly stalked into the woods.


	6. Chapter 6

Five days later, Holly had returned to Orynth, supporting Vaughan as blood leaked from his stomach. Rowan watched the pair in hawk form before shifting and taking Vaughan's weight off his sister. She immediately fell to the ground along with Vaughan. Holly swore at him, then rose. Rowan's eyes widened as he realised they had been supporting each other. He took one look at her face, and called for a healer. "Yeah, I got stabbed too you idiot," she gasped. She sounded like she was about to pass out.

"Just come with me," he said harshly. She made a face at him, then winced in pain at the bruises and cuts covering her face. "Here, I'll take Vaughan. Do you think you can make it?"

"Maybe…" She clapped a hand to her mouth, and when she took it away, blood soaked through her skin. She shook it off her hand and sped after Rowan, who was taking the fastest route possible. "Got ambushed by a group of maybe fifteen Valg. And there was a prince and princess which really didn't help." She coughed up blood again.

"Don't talk, or it might kill you." Vaughan moaned in pain as Rowan pushed him into one of the guest bedrooms. "Can you make your way to the room you stayed in before?"

"I-" More coughing.

"I'll take it from here," a voice spoke from behind them. Yrene Westfall. She took Holly's arm gently and took her to the room she'd stayed in before. Holly glanced behind her and a trail of blood followed her. She made a mental note to clean that up. Yrene touched her shoulder and light flooded through her, working fiercely to heal it. Holly thrashed against her will and Yrene snatched her hand away.

"Valg," Yrene managed. "There's some Valg magic inside of you. I-I can't." She called for another healer, a relatively young one and she also hissed at the Valg. Wait… she hadn't been hit by magic. No, that was all spears and swords and arrows. The magic they mistook for Valg magic was her arcane magic.

"Yrene, leave unless you want to be smoked to cinders," Holly said, gasping for breath afterwards. Yrene obeyed reluctantly and took the other healer with her as Holly dropped onto the bed. She looked for a certain aspect of her magic- the sun, which came under celestial magic. The sun had incredible healing abilities, and she summoned one tiny droplet of it to pour on her wounds. As soon as she did, she threw up and passed out.

Holly was shaken awake by a Fae with pine green eyes. She blinked, and it was Rowan, eyebrows furrowed with worry as he kept scanning her face. "I'm alive you know," she said.

"Excuse me if you were covered in blood and Yrene couldn't get past the Valg magic," he responded.

"That wasn't Valg magic."

"But Yrene said-"

"She doesn't know anything about arcane magic, does she now?" Rowan shut his mouth, and there was silence for a few moments. Then he spoke again.

"I'm sorry for believing you were dead." Holly Whitethorn smiled- a real genuine smile- for the first time in years.

"I know," she whispered as she pulled him down next to her.


End file.
